To be a Pirate
by The-Seeress-Yeul
Summary: After witnessing her father's death on her way to escape, Ashe seeks refuge as disguising as one of the things she distastes - a Pirate. It is upon this disguise she now takes that she meets a young man four years older than her that immediately takes her interest. -AUXII based off of Disney's Treasure Planet.-
1. Chapter 1

AU (of sorts) Final Fantasy XII based off of what very little I've seen of Treasure Planet for the first time. This will probably be a 3 part fic with the next two chapters being longer than this one.

Anyways, this is also for Alice. c:

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Ashe stared in utter disbelief as her father lay dead only a few paces in front of her. She had been in the middle of escaping the palace - her home - when she heard an ungodly noise and took cover in the bushes. She had watched as Basch, her Basch… her best friend, murder her father. Her heart hurt and she was angry and she was upset. How could he lie to her the way he had? How could he have killed her father? Silent tears began to fall down her cheeks coloured red from her anger. She stood up quickly and ran away from that sight. Not only was her husband, Rasler, dead, but so was her father. There was nothing left for her here.

Ashe had arrived in Balfonheim a few weeks later. It was a city ruled by pirates of all kinds, and even though Ashe despised the lot, she knew it would be safer if she blended in with this crowd. She went to the local seamstresses and got fitted with new piratey clothes… much to her disdain, but at least she would be hidden in this disguise of sorts. After that visit, she went in search of a crew to join when she felt a hand on her shoulder and the voice of a man filled with some kind of burden say, "Ahh… why if it isn't a young pirate. Have you come to find a crew?"

Ashe turned around and looked up into the man's face. He was dark of skin and had balding, gray hair and blue eyes. His most prominent feature were his sideburns that resembled Christmas trees.

"I am. I actually am quite new to this…. city. May I inquire as to who you may be, Sir?" Ashe asked.

This earned her a look of peculiarity from the man and then it was proceeded with a laugh.

"I take it you're not from here at'll. I'm Mayor Reddas. I own a ship and employing a crew. I've got four crew members aboard right now and I figure if you would like to join, Miss…."

"Amalia." Ashe said. It had taken her a while to come up with this name, but she had settled for it because it was her mother's name and very few people remembered her mother.

"Miss Amalia, well you would make five and I have to pick up a friend at a different port and then I think we will be all underway."

Ashe nodded and gave her reply. That she would like to join his crew.

Reddas smiled, pleased with Ashe's response and pointed to where his ship was.

"That grand ship over there… that's mine. I doubt Rikken and the others will be aboard. If not I shall introduce you later. If you'll excuse me now, I have some business to attend to."

Ashe nodded and watched as Reddas left her and went into the local pub.

She, on the other hand, let out a small sigh and headed over to Reddas' ship. Such a magnificent thing, it was. Beautiful white sails, freshly polished wood… the iron of the rigging glistening in the sunlight… it was a sight to behold.

When Ashe stepped aboard, she wasn't received by anyone and so proceeded to walk about the ship until she heard a voice call from above, "Oh! What have we got here?"

She looked up surprised to see a young man, a dashing fellow, standing in the crow's nest, staring at her.

"Well, well… Aren't you a pretty sight, dear girl? It's almost as if you're a princess."

Ashe immediately stiffened at his last remark. "P-princess? I hardly know what you're talking about."

The young man dropped down from the crow's nest rather gracefully, landing on a soft pile of groose feathers and came to stand in front of her.

"A sky-pirate princess, naturally. Or are you un-accustomed to the term?" He asked, staring intently at her.

**END PART 1**


	2. Chapter 2

Ashe blushed and turned away from him. She didn't want him to see that his remark had caused her to turn red. She was used to such compliments, but he said it with such confidence and... something else she couldn't put her finger on.

"Of course I'm used to such things!" She said, walking away from him.

She headed to the railing and looked down into the serene waters. The young man had taken his place beside her and looked at the water with her. They stood as such for a while in peaceful tranquility, but before long, Ashe had began to silently cry.

It wasn't until one of her tears had fallen and touched the waters beside the ship that the young man took notice. He became worried and without really thinking he put a hand on her shoulder and asked with concern in his voice, "What's wrong, Princess?"

He hadn't meant to call her that, but it had come out and it was already said.

Ashe didn't seem to really take notice and took a moment before answering with a broken voice. "Nothing. Nothing is... the matter."

She was so consumed by her grief that she didn't shy away from his touch. It felt nice, but eventually she noticed. She jerked her shoulder away and turned away from him.

What was she doing? Letting him touch her! He was a pirate! Part of the scum of the earth!

...But she couldn't stop herself from thinking his touch was nice.

"Do not touch me again." Ashe said, moving to the other side of the ship.

What was she even doing? He father and her husband were murdered; her best friend had betrayed her and used his trust in the family to turn on them. What else could go wrong? Somebody finding out her real identity? That she, Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, was under the guise of Amalia, a pirate? She shuddered at the thought. It would mean danger and death for her and no hope for her kingdom.

Stupid! She said to herself.

If only she had done something other than this...

He smirked at her sentence. She was obviously hurting, from what he didn'tknow, but he was bound to find out.  
"Oh come..."

He didn't know her name. What a pity.

"Amalia."

She hoped she would be safe with her mother's name.

"Amalia," How odd he thought. That name... Ah, of course. The late Queen of Dalmasca. Her first name was Amalia... from the land of sand and diversity... how awful. He continued. "Amalia, are you hurt by something? Beg pardon that I wanted to simply console you. Which... I do not do often."

"And, why am I so special?"

She turned back to look at him and despite the distance, he immediately recognized her. She was princess of the desert kingdom. She wasn't exactly used to disguises was she? Perhaps he could use this to his advantage? Confront her while the other deck hands were busy and tell her he knew her secret.

"Special? Who ever said anything about special? If I said you were I can-"

He couldn't finish. Reddas' ship was under attack and they hadn't even left port! A bullet whistled past his ear and barely missed Ashe.

"Come on!" He took Ashe's hand and quickly hid behind some of the cargo that was on the deck.

He took out his gun and snarled. "Damn bastards... Can't do anything right."

He turned to Ashe and demanded, "You wouldn't happen to have any weapons on you, would you?"

"Of course not! I don't even know where I would put them! Is my bodice sufficient enough!?"

"It is a thought..." He whispered low enough so only he could hear.

Another bullet came near them and ricocheted off the rigging. A voice called out, taunting and harsh. "Balthier! Come out, you wretch! Your bounty is going to keep me well fed."

"Damn!"

Balthier took another gun out of his holster and handed it to Ashe.

"Just point and shoot, and make sure you hit them." A hint of whining was present in his voice.

"May I ask whom we are shooting?" Ashe asked.

She was suspicious over his earlier remark about those 'damn bastards'.

Balthier was hesitant to tell her. He didn't want her to know the truth, so he danced around the finer lines and said to her as arrows rained down on them.

"They're just some headhunters. Hoping to sell my head for a price and a fine one at that."

Ashe was shocked and moved closer to him and the sound of an ax, barreling through the equipment, accompanied it.

Balthier was a dangerous pirate and one a group of bounty hunters wanted. Here she was taking cover beside him... close to him. She didn't say anything, didn't even know if she was scared when Balthier stood up and began to fire away at them.

Ashe barely heard the banter that they threw back and forth when she remembered the gun in her hands.  
What should she do? Kill Balthier or the headhunters? Could she even do it? Kill a person? She knew she'd do anything to take revenge for her kingdom, but how far was she willing to go?

Well... She supposed she would find out.

She bolted up, holding the gun firmly in her hands. The headhunters were bangaas. Ashe had seen many around Rabanastre and many were nice enough, but she knew there were exceptions to every crowd.

The headhunters and Balthier were both startled by her sudden appearance, bold and fierce. She forcefully took Balthier and pressed his gun to his throat. This sudden turn of events surprised him and he said, "If you wanted me all to yourself, my dear, you only needed to ask."

Ashe blushed faintly and barely moved her lips to say, "I'll get rid of them."

What?

Balthier smirked and said, "It seems I've been taken."

"No Hume is taking my bounty!"

"Hush!" Ashe shouted.

She took Balthier's other gun and aimed this one at the Bangaa.

"Go!" She bellowed.

They wouldn't leave. Ashe heard other footsteps approaching at a run. Just point and shoot Balthier had said?

She raised the gun and found her target - one of the underlings. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Reddas and his other crew members stormed on deck.

"You can let me go, Amalia. The reinforcements have arrived... There's no need to be killing anyone... just yet anyways."

She lowered both guns and mutely gave them back to Balthier. He put them back in holster as Reddas has the bangaa thrown off his ship.

"Very nice plan there. Unless you actually planned to kill me... then we would have trouble on our hands now, wouldn't we?"

She turned away from him and didn't say a word. Had she actually planned on killing him?

One of the other crew members rushed over and immediately grabbed Ashe's wrists and handcuffed her.  
"Wh-what do you think you are doing!?"

Ashe struggled against his grip as Balthier was behind them saying, "There's no need for that. I owe her my life."

The pirate wheeled around and barked, "So I am to understand that what she did was noble? She had the look to kill!"

Balthier shrugged. "The headhunters, of course. I am a fine treasure, aren't I, Princess?" He winked at Ashe, causing her to turn red.

The pirate grunted and handcuffed Ashe, sulking away. She rubbed her wrists as Reddas went inside his cabin asking the members to get the ship ready to leave port on his way.

As Ashe and Balthier moved over to get started on the job at hand, Ashe whispered curtly, "I owe you nothing!"

"Say what you will." He shrugged again. "Fact of the matter is that when one saves another from possible death, the person whom they saved owes the savior their life."

Ashe scoffed and began to furiously work on her job.

Owe him? The idea made Ashe bitter. Tears suddenly sprang forth from her eyes again and she ignored their sudden appearance, continuing to work. She sniffled and her vision became hazy.

He noticed this and finished her job for her before taking her to the side. He moved them into the shadows and whispered, "Did I strike a chord? Or is it something else?"

"I told you it was nothing!"

She slapped his hands away and wiped away her tears. Night was quickly falling and she was still un-accustomed to staying up late and suddenly realized her fatigue.

She left him behind and made her way over to one of the members asking where she could spend the night. After she was told, she made her way to the entrance to the crews quarters, but before she turned in for the night, she looked behind her.

The night was filled with stars and a pang of homesickness washed over her. She noticed a single figure watching her. It was Balthier. He waved to her before going back to his work.

Could she trust him?

She let out a sigh before turning her back on the sight and headed in for the night.

END

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**AN:** There's only one more part left! Now concerning the ending, I was going to leave things up to the audiences imagination, but seeing as many people could and will possibly take it the wrong way, I am sadly going to have to include an explanation on why I stopped where I did and what I wanted to happen afterwards. But that will come with the next and final part which I will either have up tonight or tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

Two years had passed since that night. Archadia had officially taken over Dalmasca and Emperor Gramis had employed a valued member of the Senate to govern from Rabanastre.

In her home! That filth of Archades ruling from her home... Over the coarse of time, Ashe's bitter revenge had grown immensely. Bitter regret and remorse, hatred and anger consumed her. It was dangerous.

During that time aboard Reddas' ship, she had let down her barriers and had become more comfortable around Balthier. So comfortable she had told him who she really was and she did so one night under the stars. They were alone, no one was bothering them.

At first, she was hesitant, but she had grown to trust him. Trust... Something of hers that had been broken two years prior.

She had begun in a whisper not wanting anyone else to hear. "I have something I need to tell you and I do apologize for not telling you earlier, but..."

This sentence immediately perked his interest and said rather nonchalantly, "But what, my dear?"

She hesitated again, but she took a deep breath and continued to whisper, "You see... Balthier, I am not who you think I am... I am Princess Ashe of Dalmasca. I'm sure you've heard of what had transpired at the palace. I was able to escape and I made it look as if I had died. It wasn't safe for me there. My husband was dead, my father assassinated and my best friend was a traitor." The disgust filled her voice when she thought of Basch.

Balthier nodded his head. "Ah... so you are the princess. I had a suspicion." He lowered his voice. "You look a lot like your mother. Shame disguises don't do you any good. Although... the others seem disillusioned enough."

Ashe was furious. He knew!? He knew and didn't tell her!? She tried to sulk away, but he took her by the arm.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. I haven't told anyone nor do I plan to. But... the money attached to your name is promising..."

She knew the last part was a joke but she still couldn't help being angry with him.

"Well, why didn't you tell me you knew!?"

"I waited for you to tell me,"

He loosened his grip on her arm seeing her, right now, under the moonlight, so radiant, he wanted to hold her, embrace her, but mostly he wanted to kiss her.

No, he couldn't. Couldn't get attached to her like he was. This was bad.

"You... waited?" Ashe asked softly as she turned to face him.

Dammit! The look on her face... It was too much, but yet he couldn't turn away.

Just as they sailed into the docks of Balfonheim, the ship was under siege. The crew and Reddas fought as Ashe went for her sword to help them, Balthier stopped her.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"You'll only make things more complicated than they are."

Ashe struggled against his, now tighter, grip when the crew members and Reddas were taken.

"Balthier! We have to help them!"

"No... we don't." He replied, darkly.

Ashe began to become fearful as she watched a Viera and two male figures carry them away.

Balthier turned Ashe to face them and wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered softly in her ears as he pressed one of his guns to her neck, "I'm sorry, Princess. I hate to do this, but I'm a bad guy and you are worth an exceptional profit."

Ashe's fists opened and closed in anger. What a fool she was to trust him.

"But, if you do exactly as I say, you won't have anything to worry about... You won't be in harms ways..."

The moonlight now became ominous as Balthier walked Ashe into the Captain's Quarters - his quarters.

**END**

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**AN:** No, he does not rape her or sell her or any of that bullcrap. Balthier is a gentleman and as we see he does begin to fall in love with her. Only he is the leader of a group of sky pirates who believe the princess not to be dead, so imagine his surprise in the second chapter when he realizes Ashe is the princess. He knows a majority of the pirates are willing to do anything to retrieve Ashe and make a profit, so he tells Fran of his plan and she goes to enlist the help of Basch and Vaan comes along too. Balthier, then, proceeds to protect Ashe from the pirates and he tells them he has had to traces of her whereabouts and that she really is dead. He tells Ashe all of this and at first she doesn't believe it, but when she had let down her barriers she began to fall for him too and so she does begin to believe it. Eventually he helps her take back her kingdom, in the process the two have a thing, (mine and alice's other auxii coming into play) Ashe gets pregnant and when she regains the throne she finds out and dunnunnun! Clara is born! The people of her kingdom are appauled she had a thing with a sky pirate, de-throne her, Larsa has to step in as the Dalmascans want a 'good' ruler. So Archades ends up ruling over Dalmasca while Larsa and Al-Cid try to find a way to get Ashe her throne back because none of them want another war and besides Ashe is buddies with the two of them. Anyways, Balthier finds out and is enraged and finds Ashe on the slumbs on her kingdom and the two find a means of residence near the borders of Rabanastre. Clara is born and she grows up and hates the people who kicked her mom out of her home and the Archadians. Larsa ends up marrying Penelo and they have a son named Sebastian who one day wonders the streets of said Rabanastre and encounters Clara and tells her there are rebels in Rozarria who want to take Dalmasca and tries to enlist her help. He tries to deny her wonderful beauty and she tries to deny his, but they both fail to do so and they end up together later. SO! I chose to end it here simply because I didn't plan for mine and alice's other auxii to come int oplay (i just actually thought of it and you shouldall go check out our first one at .com) and because I felt like here was a good stopping point. I didn't want to drag thestory on for much longer anyways since I've only seen a small part of TP. Anyways, please dropa review so I know how you guyslike it!


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